


With You By My Side

by FrozenWings



Series: Tangled in Frozen Prompts [1]
Category: Frozen (Disney Movies), Frozen 2 - Fandom
Genre: During the montage of them traveling to the Enchanted Forest, F/M, Foreshadowing, Frohana (Disney), Impending separations, Journeys of Self-Discovery, Kristanna, One Shot, Sisters, So somewhere in the middle?, Takes place mid-Frozen 2, Tangled in Frozen Week (Disney), Travel, With You By My Side, but not really angst either, not really fluff, snow sisters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:02:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25516960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrozenWings/pseuds/FrozenWings
Summary: En route to the Enchanted Forest in search of the mysterious voice calling Elsa, Anna asks Kristoff if her sister seems...different somehow.She’s not sure it’s a good different.
Relationships: Anna & Elsa (Disney), Anna/Kristoff (Disney), Elsa & Kristoff (Disney), Elsa & Olaf (Disney)
Series: Tangled in Frozen Prompts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1849777
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	With You By My Side

**Author's Note:**

> My very first contribution to one of my very favorite fandoms! I’m so excited!
> 
> And nervous. Again.
> 
> The two ‘Frozen’ movies are my absolute favorites and ‘Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure’ is one of my favorite television shows, so when I saw kanshou87’s ‘Tangled in Frozen’ week prompts this past spring, I knew I had to write something. But time, life, and shyness about sharing my work put those plans on hold until now. 
> 
> For anyone who may not know, the theme of the prompts was to write fics featuring the 'Frozen' characters inspired by songs from 'Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure.' So, for your (hopefully) reading pleasure, I present this short fic inspired by the song 'With You By My Side.' 
> 
> Started April 2020, finished late July 2020.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
_Maybe we’re fated to be separated,  
Who knows where our paths might be bending?  
How I wish we could stay here forever this way,  
But I guess ther’s no point in pretending.  
If we're destined to head in our own separate ways,  
Let's make the most of these sweet final days  
Why not go out in a glorious blaze?  
_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hmm.”

Kristoff looked up from the wheel of his cart over to Anna, standing at his side. They were en route to...actually, he didn’t know where, just that they were heading north in search of some mysterious ‘voice’ Elsa was hearing, which, yes, was real and not in her head and, no, she isn’t ‘losing it’ ( _see_ if he made the mistake of mentioning that possibility to Anna a second time). 

After driving across rough, wild ground littered with oddly-sized divots and bumps for the past day and a half, the entire party (or at least those members with bones and muscles to be jostled) had begun debating the wisdom of taking the time out for a rest break. The debate had turned into a unanimous agreement when Olaf, having spotted an Interesting Bird, became so excited he leapt onto Sven’s back to get a better look, startling the animal who proceeded to bolt down the rocky, uneven earth at a breakneck pace. Not long after this headlong dash began, the front left wheel decided it had had enough of this madness and flew off its axle, upending the cart and sending its passengers flying through the air beore landing in a large pile of soft, fluffy snow (thank goodness for Elsa’s powers, quick thinking, and impeccable aim). Hence Kristoff’s present position crouching in the dirt, reattching the thankfully undamaged wheel to the equally intact axle while Sven took a well-deserved nap and the sisters stretched their legs.

Or, at least, Elsa was stretching her legs; Anna hadn’t left his side, saying that she wanted to help Kristoff with the repairs despite knowing absolutely nothing bout carts excepting how to ride in one. She had proceeded to spend the entire time staring after her sister, a pensive look on her face, teal eyes glued to the ice blue-clad woman moving through the scrub. Normally Kristoff would have found such an expression adorable, but her brows were wrinkled with worry, and she chewed her lip distractedly. Clearly, something was on her mind, and while at one point in time Kristoff would have just given a shrug and gone about his day as usual, he had changed for the better over the past three years, due in large part to the influence of the gorgeous redhead at his side. So, instead, he stood, draped an arm about her slim shoulders, planted a soft kiss on the top of her head, and waited for her to speak, knowing that if she wanted to talk (as he suspected she did), she would. Sure enough, it didn’t take long for her to break the silence. 

“Does Elsa seem different to you?” 

_This question again,_ Kristoff thought with a small amount of frustration. While he had come to know Elsa quite well since their introduction shortly after the Great Thaw and viewed her as a sister just as much as Anna did, his skill in reading her moods and emotions paled in comparison to Anna's. Somehow, through their tight-knit sisterly bond, she was able to pick up on subtleties and nuances in her elder’s behavior that were invisible to the rest of mankind, himself included. Normally this didn’t bother him, but it did make it difficult to answer the question Anna just posed. Rather than try and guess at what she was referring to, he instead answered her query with a pair of his own. “What do you mean? Different how?” 

“Just look at her,” Anna responded, gesturing slightly to the tableau in front of them.

Kristoff looked over where she indicated, and his own brow creased as he focused, trying to notice what had caugh Anna’s attention and had her so worried. Elsa stood alongside Olaf, one twiggy hand gripped in her own as she allowed herself to be led around the sparse field they were stopped in, smiling and trotting slightly as he bounded over to an Interesting Rock, which he proceeded to tell her about animatedly, no doubt peppering his speech with a dozen or more pieces of obscure, barely-believable trivia facts (he was sure that by the time this adventure was over, he’d never wnat to hear the words ‘did you know’ again).

He watched the twosome closely for a while, then, as Olaf ran ahead to an Interesting Clod of Dirt, leaving Elsa to walk alone, his eyes widened. Anna was right; something about Elsa was definitely different. She seemed to have...changed, somehow. While she was still as elegant and graceful as ever, regal and poised and polished, the restraint that she typically carried herself with and permitted to govern her actions was gone. It had evaporated and given way to something he couldn’t find the words to describe, her steps loose and free, bolstered by a confidence and surety he had never seen before but always felt she had. 

A gust of wind blew across the plain, and Elsa stopped in her tracks and stood, eyes shut, letting it race across her skin and play with her hair, teasing it and tousling it so platinum blonde wisps circled her head like a halo. It toyed with her coat and cape as well, causing the latter to billow out behind her like strange, gossamer wings, transforming her from a mortal queen into something out of a myth or legend. A smile bloomed across Elsa’s face, looking more at peace than she had been in weeks, and Kristoff’s breath caught in his throat as he found the word tha eluded him when trying to describe the change in his almost-sister-in-law: 

Wildness.

A deep, hidden part of her had been unlocked when she heard that ‘voice,’ and there was no putting it back.

As she stood before him, smiling as the wind filled her ears with secrets and stories of whence it’d been and where it was going, he trid to picture her returning to Arendelle and the life and role she held, standing stiffly in front of a row of stuffy, disapproving diplomats, a polite but fake smile plastered on her lips, or holed up in her study hunched over treaties and laws and declarations, completely oblivious to whether it was raining or sunning outside her window, green and purple flags flapping in a breeze she couldn’t feel. 

He couldn't.

Later, he would realize that that was the moment he knew, knew her destiny lay elsewhere, beyond the confining walls of the castle courtyard or the invisible boundaries of a kingdom. But in the present, he had simply stood and marveled and wondered at the change and what it meant, silent alongside his princess, trying to think of what to say. Fortunately she spoke first, and her voice in his ear was sad and wistful, dwindling until her final words were nearly whispered. 

“It’s like this trip is...changing her into something different that...I dunno, doesn’t belong in Arendelle. Doesn’t belong with me.” 

Kristoff looked back down at Anna. She was fiddling with the gold chain across the top of her cloak, the metal links winking in the sunlight merrily in stark contrast to their wearer’s mood. His eyes driftd to the brooch at her neck bearing the emblem of the Arendelle royal family. Elsa’s outfit didn’t have any of those, eschewing the crocus in favor of her signature snowflake. It never did. As little as he knew about fashion except how to compliment the women in his life on their choices, this had always struck him as odd, seeing how she was the queen and thus _the_ represnetative of her country. Maybe it was a small detail to latch on to, insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but for some reason, in the wake of Anna's words, it felt important.

_It’s like she doesn’t belong in Arendelle. Doesn't belong with me._

The teal eyes were shining like the chain now, though not with merriment. Kristoff pulled her closer, wrapping his other arm around her as she rested her head on his chest, delicate form leaning against strong. She sniffed, her gaze still glued to her sister, and Kristoff ran a large hand through her fiery hair, so brilliant and bright one would almost expect it to burn skin.

“What if whatever she’s chasing is something that will make her not want to come back?” 

“Hey,” he said gently, a reasurring smile in his words. “I don’t think there’s anything on earth that could keep her from coming back to you. No, I _know._ Heck, there's probably nothing in the afterlife that could either. So long as you’re in Arendelle, Elsa will always come back.” 

“But what if you’re wrong?” Anna challenged back, and even though she didn’t look up at him he knew she was still fighting tears. "There’s no point in pretending that this journey won’t change us; it will. I can feel it. What if this...fate or destiny or whatever is that we’re not meant to be together? I mean, we were separted for, like, thirteen years and now it may happen _again._ It’s almost like we’re meant to live separate lives. And,” she gave another sniffle, wetter than the first, and wiped her nose on the shoulder of her rich purple cloak. “I really don’t want to. I want things to stay like they were at the harvest festival forever. Just you and me and Elsa and Sven and Olaf living together in Arendelle. Happy.”

Kristoff didn’t have an answer for that right away and instead watched Elsa with Anna. The breeze had died down and she had caught up with Olaf, nodding politely as he told her about the Interestng Lichen he had found, trying not to let on how she felt that it was more of the Boring variety. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel a pang of sadness at Anna's words. She hadn’t mentioned anything about marrying him or building a future together or someday, maybe, possibly, only-if-she-wanted-to, starting a family. The ring in his pocket burned, and his fingers itched to pull it out and slip it on her finger, reminding her that some of life’s changes were wonderful, that at least she'd always have him, but he didn’t. Tactless as he could be, now obviously wasn’t the time.

“Well,” he finally said, and Anna broke her study to stare up at him with streaming nose and watering eyes, looking like a small child woken up from a bad dream. “Then I guess there’s only one thing to do.” 

She cocked her head and furrowed her brows adorably as she silently questioned him. He grinned at her and tilted his head towards her sister, who was trying to pull Olaf away from an Interesting Snakehole. 

“Make the most of this trip. I doubt we’ll get to...wherever we’re going for a few more days at least. Let fate handle itself and just enjoy the ride. With her.”

His words had the desired effect and, after a considering, perspective-placing moment, Anna’s face brightened to rival the sun. She leaned up to give him a peck on the lips, thrilling him and bringing heat into his cheeks as always happened when she surprised him with a kiss.

“Thank you,” she said, and though there was still sadness in her voice it was tempered by gratitude. She slipped out of his arms and began to sprint over to Elsa and Olaf. After a few paces, though, she skidded to a halt and half-turned back to face him. “Oh, wait, the wagon. I can still help.” 

“Naw,” he said nonchalantly with a wave of his hand. “I’ve got this. You’d be surprised at how many wagon repairs I’ve done.” 

“Actually,” she said with a smirk, “I probably wouldn’t.” He tried to look annoyed but failed miserably and smiled sheepishly at her (this _was_ his third in as many years). With that she gave a little wave and was off.

He returned his attention to the wheel, mulling over their conversation. He fully understood Anna’s concerns. The thought of Elsa leaving them made his heart feel like it was being ripped from his chest; he couldn’t even imagine how it may feel to Anna, who seemed to dedicate every breath of her existence to her elder. A hand was dashed across his eyes as the wheel became blurred. No, he wouldn’t think about that, wouldn’t allow the possibility of an Elsa-less future get to him. Time to take his own advice: make the most of this trip and what time they _did_ have together. The future...was the future, and would happen when it happened, no sooner.

A shriek tore his attention away from the wheel and sent Sven leaping to his hooves, instantly wide-awake. The Interesting Snakehole had proven to be more Interesting than initially surmised, causing Anna to latch onto her sister’s arm like a leech, alternately trying to tug her away and hide behind her. Elsa held her hands unertainly before her, debating whether this situation warranted her using her magic, not wanting to hurt the serpent but oh, God, its coming closer. Both women were shouting at a clueless Olaf to ‘Get away from that!’ (Anna's imperative slightly more colorful than Elsa's). Olaf, for his part, seemed blissfully unaware of the girls’ distress and was prattling on about snakes and reptiles and how he was sixty-eight percent sure this one _wasn’t_ poisonous. Kristoff leapt up and ran towards the trio, Sven at his side, pausing only to habitually grab a hatchet from the cart (you know, in case it fell into the thirty-two percent).

Who knew what the future held. One thing was for sure, though: whatever went down, it would go down in a glorious blaze.

This was Anna and Elsa he was talking about; how could they do anything less?

**Author's Note:**

> I love this song despite its bittersweet flavor. Ever since it became apparent that 'Frozen 2' would feature the characters going on a journey, I've felt that 'With You By My Side' was perfectly suited to Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff's situation. 
> 
> Thank you _so much_ for reading this and I really hope you enjoyed my first foray into contributing to this fandom!
> 
> Special acknowledgment to the people behind 'With You By My Side:' Alen Menken, Glen Slater, Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, and Eden Espinosa.


End file.
